


In the Eyes of the Beholder

by hushlittlewolf



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Canonical Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 15:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hushlittlewolf/pseuds/hushlittlewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took a moment for the vertigo to pass but when it did, Derek let his eyes slide open. Stiles sucked in a breath, the sound neither disgusted nor angry, and Derek looked at the pale, blue light reflected in Stiles’s eyes. </p><p>Or</p><p>The one where Derek let's Stiles see his original blue eyes and waits for the condemnation he's so sure he deserves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Eyes of the Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I wrote on Tumblr after "The Overlooked"

"Beautiful."

Derek blinked, concentration slipping, and his eyes bled back to their Alpha scarlet: the color he stole, the color he  _earned._

"What?" he said, disbelief thick in his voice, lodged in this throat. He couldn't have heard that right. Derek gave half a thought to wolfsbane poisoning before Stiles' hand on his cheek drew his attention. 

Stiles was leaned his close, amber eyes bright and warm, like a shot of whiskey, burning through Derek's chest. "Can you show me again?" he whispered. His tone was cautious and oddly reverent, his words burrowing deep beneath Derek's ribs and taking root there. "Please."

Derek swallowed, throat clicking, but dipped his head in agreement. Taking a deep breath, he let his eyes flutter shut and focused. It took a lot of concentration, a lot of strength of will, but if Derek tried hard enough, he was able to suppress his Alpha powers. Unnatural as it may be, as sick as it made him feel--like his skin was stitched wrong, like Stiles could see straight through him, look into all the welds and cracks that never fully mended--Derek still went through with it. 

Because Stiles had asked, and Derek didn't have the strength to push him away anymore. That damn persistent kid had whittled him down to nothing, bare bone and bleeding heart. 

It took a moment for the vertigo to pass but when it did, Derek let his eyes slide open. Stiles sucked in a breath, the sound neither disgusted nor angry, and Derek looked at the pale, blue light reflected in Stiles's eyes. 

"Beautiful," Stiles whispered again. His fingers came up, long and slim and warm, brushing beneath the curve of Derek's eye, down to the jut of his cheekbone. "I mean not that your red eyes aren't either but these...I like these."

Something painful twisted in Derek's chest, a sickening crunch at the boy's naivety. "Stiles," he rasped, voice shattered glass and serrated memories. "These eyes...this color..."

"I know. I know, Derek. Peter...told me." Derek stilled, but Stiles' fingers didn't retract, didn't rebuke him. They continued their gentle sweeps along his skin, pressing down on the crinkles in the corners of his eyes, smoothing out the crease in his brow. "And I don't care. You wear these eyes like a Mark of Cain, Derek, but...they don't define you. This color isn't who you are."

Derek frowned and tried to move away--half formulated thoughts of  _Paige_ and  _guilt_ on his tongue--but Stiles' fingers locked on his chin and tilted his head up, locked gazes with him and wouldn't let him go. 

"They're beautiful.  ** _You_** are beautiful, and I know how horribly sappy this is right now but I need you to believe me, if only for just this once." Stiles leaned forward and kissed each of Derek's eyes, the press of his mouth warm and  _forgiving._

"Not everything is your fault Derek," Stiles whispered against his skin. "And you may not be like Scott," he continued, not saying the words-- _True Alpha--_ but Derek heard them nonetheless. "You might be different but...you're still powerful, still badass, still...beautiful." 

Derek's eyes fluttered open, and they were red once more. Stiles smiled, moonlight glinting off his teeth and for a split second, Derek saw his mother standing before him. They had the same kind eyes, the same absolution and forgiveness in the lines of their bodies that Derek had been looking for for half his life. 

Derek took a deep breath and, for the first time in a  _long_ time, it came easy, his demons and mistakes and failures no longer sitting like weights in his lungs. 

"Beautiful," Stiles whispered one more time before leaning in to press the words against Derek's teeth. The way he said it, the conviction in his voice, the way he believed-- _Stiles Stilinski: The boy who believed--_ Derek could do nothing but listen to the steady beat of the boy's heart and accept his words as truth. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: http://the-wild-wolves-around-you.tumblr.com


End file.
